Mary Ivec

Ms Mary Ivec

Mary holds post graduate degrees in social policy, social work and counselling having completed her Bachelor of Arts (Sociology and Politics) at the ANU. Mary has thirty years experience in human services ranging from the not-for-profit sector, government policy development, social work education and clinical practice as a mental health social worker. Mary has been working at RegNet since 2007 on regulatory research including child protection, occupational health & safety and radicalisation.

Mary writes about her thesis:

Regulation is about wellbeing and balance. In social work literature, the combination of the two concepts ‘wellbeing’ and ‘balance’ broadly denotes resilience; resilience being a developmental process and a positive adaptation despite threats (Ungar 2012). This research selects a case study (Australian chemical regulation) in potential regulatory success, stewardship, and how an environmental and business regulator has been able to adapt and attempt to add public value and achieve high rates of industry compliance. The research aims to contribute to understanding the risks and benefits of using restorative and relational practices within the environmental and business regulation domains and how this learning might translate into human services regulation.

Research interests:
Applications of restorative justice and responsive regulation in statutory child protection, social work, and social and political institutions more broadly; formal and informal regulatory systems; and regulatory culture change.